94 – Secure
Mar 20, 2025
Zara’s POV
Big, blue-green eyes kept staring back at me; they looked so full of life and love that it was hard for me to turn my gaze away.
Who is she?
Why did Nic keep a photo of her in his pocket?
Is his heart longing for her?
Am I just a distraction?
My mind kept reminding me of the girl’s features in the photo. Her long, flawless golden hair looked so soft and beautiful. Her full pink lips would mold around Nic’s easily, and her perfect straight nose and high cheekbones made her look like a sun goddess compared to me. Everyone she met must have loved her.
Love her.
A sob escaped my lips.
Nic must love her if he kept a photo in his pocket of her.
I gasped as if all the air was knocked out of my lungs and stumbled backward as the realization hit me.
Nic must be in love with her.
How else could I explain the photo?
My whole world crumbled around me. Was our relationship just a lie? Did Nic only mark and mate me because of who I am?
Tears burned behind my eyelids and threatened to escape while my heart ripped in two in my chest.
How could Nic do this to me? How could he use me like that?
I slowly sat down on the bed, holding the photo in my hands. My whole body was shaking as a sob erupted from my lips.
“Oh, Goddess,” I cried. I couldn’t keep my true feelings hidden any longer. “Why? Why was I so blind not to see that his heart belongs to another?”
My eyesight became restricted as the warm and big tears spilled over, rolling down my cheeks and wetting the photo.
“She is so pretty,” I sobbed. “I can’t compete with her! I have never seen someone so beautiful as her before.”
Kaya whimpered in the back of my mind; she couldn’t look at the photo any longer. The betrayal left a deep scar in her heart—our heart.
“I need to leave,” I said, getting to my feet. “I can’t stay here any longer!”
I ran into the bathroom, stripped myself of Nic’s shirt, and looked at myself in the mirror.
A whimper left my lips when I stared back at myself in the mirror.
My face was red and swollen, and tear lines were burned on the side of my face, indicating that I had cried.
This was the second time Nic made me cry, and I promised myself that it would be the last.
I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes, as I forced the pain inside my heart to the side. I needed to calm myself to be able to concentrate.
I reminded myself that this was not the first time that my heart was shattered to pieces, but I was certain that it would be the last!
My eyes shot open—my once beautiful silver eyes were now a solid, hard gray, an indication that I will not let anyone in my heart again.
I opened the basin tap and quickly washed my face, then grabbed my duffel bag, carried it to my room, and got my clothes out.
I quickly got dressed in a pair of light blue skinny jeans, a white shirt, and my favorite pair of blue sneakers.
Levi brought the clothes over while Nic and I were out picnicking… my heart suddenly pinched in my chest, making me gasp.
Why was it so hard to think of Nicolas?
Why did it hurt so much?
“What are you planning to do?” Kaya asked, interrupting my thoughts.
I sighed and stopped. I didn’t have much time to really think.
“Not sure,” I answered, continuing to tie my shoes. “But I am certain that I do not want to be near Nicolas now!”
Kaya whimpered. She knew how unpredictable I could be when I was so emotionally overwhelmed.
“You will need to decide quickly,” Kaya stated. “Before Nicolas comes back to check on you.”
I lifted my gaze at the open door going to the balcony; it was the easiest way out and maybe even my only option to ensure I didn’t run into Nic.
“Nicolas will still be able to track us even if I hide your scent,” Kaya interrupted my thoughts. “Where will you go? If he gets a sniff of your scent, he will certainly track you down.”
“What other option do I have?” I asked, my bottom lip quivering. “I can’t stay here, not while I know the truth that he is in love with someone else.”
Going home wasn’t an option. Nicolas will call Levi first, then my father. If I go to Kyle’s, he will inform Levi and possibly Ronan of my whereabouts.
Kaya’s ears suddenly twitched, and she turned her attention toward the door.
“Someone is coming up the stairs,” she warned.
“Can you detect who?” I inquired, my attention shifting toward the door.
“I am not sure,” she replied, shifting her muzzle to the air. “But they are going down the hallway.”
I nodded, getting to my feet.
When the soft knock sounded, and the familiar voice of Mariana called at the door, my throat ran dry and my heart skipped a beat.
I didn’t want Mariana to see me like this. She was so motherly good to me, but she was still a pack member of Nicolas, and her loyalty should be with her Alpha, not with me. I can’t make her choose—that would be wrong of me to want her to do that.
The second Mariana pushed the door handle down, my heart jumped to my throat, and my breathing hiked.
I only had one thing in mind. I had to choose between running and hiding.
But where?
The fight-or-flight response must have triggered my magic, which took over my mind and helped me.
I could feel how it moved through my veins, taking over my body.
It wanted me to feel safe and secure again. It didn’t like me to feel sad or afraid.
My hands suddenly began to glow, and my attention snapped toward the balcony where the wind yanked on the curtains.
My eyes shot wide, making me shiver and gasp at the same time.
What the hell was my magic planning to do?
I had no idea how to control it!
I subconsciously started to raise and stretch my hands before me, aiming at the door.
Was I going to destroy the door?
“Maybe it wants to secure the bedroom door,” Kaya tried to calm me down, but I could feel her uncertainty like my own.
“Or maybe it just wants to send Mariana away…” I added.
“Or giving you time to escape,” Kaya concluded my thoughts.
Yeah, that must be the reason. My magic wouldn’t hurt Mariana, would it?
However, I could feel my magic was gathering energy. It was summoning the piping warm energy from every part of my body, boiling my blood as it moved to my hands.
My hands started to vibrate and shake, forcing the wind to twist and turn against the bedroom door.
“It looks like it’s trying to keep Mariana out,” Kaya commented.
However, a blinding light suddenly left my hands, going toward the door.
I couldn’t help but close my eyes out in fright.
The wind immediately stopped yanking on the curtains, and the room fell dead silent.
I slowly peered through one of my eyelids, my heart drumming in my ears.
“What the hell is that!” Kaya yielded in amazement.
My eyes snapped open in confusion, and my jaw fell to the ground in shock.
“Impossible,” I muttered, frozen in my spot. I had opened a portal of some sort.
“Don’t waste time. Go!” Kaya urgently urged. “We need to leave before Mariana informs Nicolas.”
I hurried, and I quickly went through the portal.
If only I knew where the portal would leave me.
****
